O.O.O

9/14: Prompt: Poetry. Saitou struggles in finding the right words which don't cause Ami to break out in hives.

O.O.O

Allergic to Love Letters

Saitou banged his head on the wall again and again. He'd done it repeatedly since he heard his girlfriend had been sent to the nurse's office. Mainly because he was directly to blame for her being there.

"Allergic to love letters," Saitou groaned as he stopped punishing himself. "Can anything in this relationship be easy?"

Saithough thought he was supposed to be the lucky one. Out of all teh reborn Shitensou he was the youngest and had been the only one able to enroll in high school with the girls. He envisioned walking to school holding hands, study sessions alone in the library , and leaving love notes in each other's shoe locker.

Unfortunately, none of it was panning out the way he had hoped. Their apartments were on the opposite side of the town from each other, Ami mainly studied with the girls (insisting they needed more assistance), and now his first love note resulted in her being sent to the nurses office. He was beginning to wonder if coming back into Ami's life was beneficial to her or not.

Saitou's brooding was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Makoto standing there with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"I heard what happened. I'm sorry," Makoto apologized.

"What are you sorry for?" Saitou wondered with a shrug. "I'm the one who sent her to the nurse's office with a love letter."

"Yeah but we as a group wanted to give you the crash course on how to handle Ami's more…eccentric behaviors," Makoto began, trying to find the right words. "But then all the stuff with the rest of the guys coming back and college entrance exams, we kinda messed up."

"It's…okay," Saitou grumbled, trying his best to swallow the sarcastic comment he had built in the back of his mind. "Anything else I should know regarding the Mizuno operation manual?"

"She's the most diligent one of all of us but because of this she can overwork herself. When she gets overwhelmed we've been having her do breathing exercises," Makoto explained, as she began to tick off examples on her fingers. "When you know she absolutely needs a break and she's still going, hugging her until she gives in has been known to work. Speaking of breaks, she has forgotten to eat meals before. Try to monitor her intake. She loves sandwiches."

"Got it," Saitou nodded, trying to commit all the notes to memory. "And her allergy to love letters?"

"We're pretty sure it's related to anxiety," Makoto speculated. "We don't know for sure."

"Okay," Saitou sighed, placing his hands behind his head to check to make sure his pony tail was tight. It was a habit he had when he was lacking confidence. "I'm beginning to think I'm not the guy for this job."

"Hey don't be like that," Makoto insisted, patting his shoulder. "Love isn't easy sometimes but you know it's worth it."

"Yeah its just," Saitou reflected on a recent picnic with everyone and how Mamoru was on top of Usagi's needs. When she was hungry he pulled out snacks like a gun slinger. She barely had time to shiver before Mamoru had his coat off and around her shoulders. "Mamoru seems to know exactly what Usagi needs."

"You know how much guidance we had to give him to get him to understand her?" Makoto scoffed. "Even with those psychometry powers of his. I mean he's your prince. You should know how much he needs a confidence booster on a regular basis."

"Good point. Thanks by the way," Saitou acknowledged, regaining his smile. "For watching his back…and mine."

"It's what I do," Makoto proclaimed, puffing out her chest. "Now you go check on our little bookworm and make sure she's feeling better. You got this romeo. Don't overthink it and go in there."

"Okay, here goes," Saitou announced, straightening his uniform jacket and heading towards the nurses office. When he entered, he found the nurse was not around and no one was inside the room except for Ami laying on one of the beds. Saitou pulled the sheet away and stepped nex to Ami's bed. "Hey…feeling any better?"

"A bit," Ami answered, her mood picking up as he saw Saitou had arrived. Her face and arms were covered with a salve to help the hives go down quicker. "I'm sorry I made you worry."

"No, I'm sorry," Saitou retorted, running his hand over his forehead. "I'm the one who sent you the letter."

"You did?" Ami asked, but nodded as things came together. "I guess it makes sense. A guy giving his girlfriend a love letter and all. I just…didn't respond properly is all."

A pause as Saitou struggled to come up with a good response.

Ami sighed. "I'm sorry I'm not normal."

"Ami, come on baby. It's not such a bad thing," Saitou appealed, trying to find a way to cheer his girlfriend up. "Can I ask? Why do you have such a reaction to love letters?"

Ami looked away and took a deep breath. "My dad used to write these lovely letters to my mom. They would be full of poetry and lovely words insisting how much he loved her to the moon and back. Since I learned to read at an early age my mom would let me read the letters when they are done."

Ami continued. "Then one day I picked up one of the letters and read it before my mom had a chance. It was the letter he left right before he walked out of the apartment and barricaded himself in his art studio. It was a devastating experience."

"So you read your dad's dear john letter to your mom where he chose his work over you and your mother?" Saiotu spelled out, perfectly understanding how Ami could develop such a negative reaction to love letters after hearing such a story. "That makes absolutely perfect sense. Anyone would hate receiving a love letter after such an experience."

"Really?" Ami wondered, her eyes wide as she looked up at Saitou. The exchange caused them each to smile at one another.

"So," Saitou began reaching forward and moving Ami's hair off her forehead. "When the words aren't in a letter, say being red to you by a lovestruck classmate hoping to get on your good side…you'd have no problem with it?"

"I love that," Ami commented, her smile getting even wider.

"Alright," Saiotu replied, pulling the letter he had retrieved from where Ami had dropped it by her shoe locker. "Try not to groan and cringe at how bad these are."

"I'm sure it'll be fantastic," Ami mused as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the love letter filled with poetry Saiotu had written.

O.O.O

Five down, two to go. I really think Ami's allergy to love letters really sends a bad message to the fandom. It made many think she doesn't like romance at all which is just not the case. She has a secret love for romance novels (which is mentioned in many of her character profiles). I think it probably is anxiety and the whole "love being forced upon her" element. Just like my headcanon of "she becomes physical before verbally affectionate", having a love letter (a literal embodiment of verbal affection) thrust upon her is just too intense. That being the case, I see her as someone who loves to be pampered and once you weaken her barriers, LOVES cuddles anytime she can get them.

"I'm sorry I'm not normal" came from a very personal place. My SO has been dealing with a lot of mental health issues lately. I've been trying to be as supportive as possible but some days can be better than others. I try my best to shower them with love and comfort and make them feel as accepted as I can.

Reviews are love and they keep me writing.